[Advaita-l] Pitrupaksha questions

[Srikanta Narayanaswami]

Message Body
Pranams

I find you have completely avoided answers to all three questions. It will be helpful to keep your answers direct and relevant to the question, so your point of view is decipherable.

Let me repeat my questions one at a time, in the hope that this time around your answers are direct and relevant.


Q.1

> there is no pratyavaya incurred by
> its nonperformance"
> 
> This is true. 
> Do you know if Sankara talks about what, if any, then is
> the effect of nonperformance of nitya karmas?
> 


Hari OM
Shyam
____________________________________________________________________________________________Mr.shyam,
Mr.shyam,
I donot know whether you have followed my answers carefully and seriously.If you have studied the B.G
these questions will not arise.The B.G clearly states"Pratyavayo na vdyate!".
I donot know whether you have sarefully studied and followed,SriShankara Bhagawathpada's commentary on the relevant section of performing nitya karmas.He clearly explains this in his commentary to the slokah:
"Karmani akarma yah pashyeth,akarmani karma yah!
sah Buddhiman manushyeshu,sa yuktah krstna karma krt!!"
You read the commentary by SriShankara Bhagawathpada where he takes up the question of non-performance of nitya karmas.A vrttikara(most probably)a Bhedha-abhedha vadin,Bhatrprapanca.He quotes the view of this vrttikara.this vrttikara states that Nitya karmas even though it may avoid pratyavaya,they are treated as Akarma,because these nitya karmas are called akarmas,in the same way as a nonmilking cow,though it is a-gou is called a gau(cow,just for name sake-Gauna),these nitya karmas though they have no phala is called A-karma.In the same way, this nitya karma has to be treated.
For this Sri.Shankara Bhagawathpada answers,quoting from the B.G "Na sato vidyate Bhavah,na abhavo vidyate satah"a non-performance cannot produce any fruit(phala)since an asath cannot produce any thing.There is no such thing as a horns of a hare or son of a barren woman.hence nonperformance of nitya karmas cannot produce any phala.Hence they need not be performed.This is the starting point of knowing Jnana that Karmas cannot produce any result.The mundaka shruthi also substantiates this to one whao wants to know as;
"Pareekshya lokan karmacitan nirvedamayath Brahmano nasti akrtam krtena
tena vijnanartham sa Gurureva abhigacceth samith panih shrotriyam Brahmanishtam"
The Shruthi lies emphasis on "pareekshya lokan karmacitan nirvedamayath"one has to unlearn whatever he has learnt from the karma khandha.In order to know the higher, he has to approach a Guru who is a shrotriya(who knows the purport of the vedas) and also Brahmanishtam(well established in Brahman)"
N.Srikanta.